Saturday, June 26, 2010

Larry sent in this cool shot of him and Batman from a Columbus car show circa 1981. It's weird but this is how I kind of picture Batman. I'd also like to know where Larry got that killer Flash T Shirt!

Friday, June 25, 2010

"Don Bill Jac" sounds a bit like an obscure early 70s film you'd catch at 4 am, there's good reason for this as it's the name of a toyline that could only exist in the 1970s. Don, Bill and Jac consisted of the titular heroes and their "each sold seperately" outfits and accessories.

If you've never heard of these toys but find it oddly familiar to you at the same time, it's because Don Bill Jac was only sold in Italy but it is a clever repackaging of a toy line known to North American kids as "Mr Action" (more on him soon).

Thursday, June 24, 2010

I've talked about the "Swim Mobile" in the past, growing up semi rural I had no idea such thing existed, I was even more surprised to see what other roving entertainment centers were available to those in the inner city.

The teen canteen provided entertainment, hot dogs, soft drinks and a possible place to score pot from a friendly musician!

Aw yeah, it's time for neighbours to let out their frustrations on each other with the roving "Boxing Mobile". They should totally bring this back, I'd go all MMA on my neighbour Doug for his noisy ass mower.

It's a big truck full of Roller Skates and they just hand them out to any kid! Imagine the sadness you'd feel as you see the Skate Mobile pull away while you're tending to your numerous cuts and scraps.

It's a roving playground complete with slides, a functional basketball net and swings. I'd feel weird living in a place where the park drove away at night...

Finally there's the most logical and functional of them all. Not as flashy as the others but my goodness, an idea that will never go out of style..

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

This dude whom I've dubbed "Lanny" (no doubt for his resemblance to Lanny McDonald from the Calgary Flames) is one of my favourite catalog models of all time. Not only is his look wonderfully stuck in the era but he just seems to be the king of the awkward catalog pose. I present to you his wonderful history:

This classic spread looks like the poster for some Dinner theatre show that runs 2 nights.

Lanny will however be best known for his incredible debut photo, this shot was taken just minutes before he was beaten and mocked by a pack of third graders.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

I'm always amused/horrified at some of the leaps that manufacturers took to capitilize on "Sweathog mania" in the mid seventies. Much of this stuff was on clearance until the early 1990s until it became collectible and washed up at toyshows all of a sudden.

Take into consideration this desk set created by Azrak Hamway (AHI)one of my favourite Rack Toy manufacturers, I'm not sure if the smiling faces of 27 year old high school students is adequate incentive to study hard.

I am however in love with this weird-o Sweathogs typewriter, mostly because it looks more like a piece of pop art than it does a functional typing device. I wonder how much typing one can do with a tiny Gabe Kaplan staring at you, telling you to start small fires..

Sunday, June 20, 2010

This past weekend's Mego Meet convention was another wallet draining explosion of 70s toy goodness combined with a comraderie (translation: I got drunk). While devoted solely to toys made by Mego corporation, there were a lot of other gems there that were interesting, dare i say weird, so I decided to share.

The Korg thermos, every child's dream. I can no longer look at Korg merchandise without thinking of Evil Meatball VS Cat.

Assorted dresses for Action Jose, the Kung Fu man. you can't really make stuff like this up.

Wonderful old school Monster Puzzles..

When M*A*S*H was whacky, this doll has "golf club lifting action", why? It's also priced at $2.33 and may be the only thing ever that has been.

It's just page after page of the Hulk saying "Agh! What Hulk ever do to you?"

The King of the Terrons didn't go home with me this year but it was awfully tempting.

Everyone remembers Tim Conway's "Dorf on Safari" right?

The guys at Cast A Way toys gifted me with this flocked beauty, their rendition of Brick Mantooth.

And I was also given this custom Animal Man doll from Scott AKA Random Axe on the museum boards, who knew it was my favourite character. There is no way in hell I'd ever able to make something this professional looking in a million years, I was very humbled by this generous act to say the least.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Despite it's parentage of Lucas and Spielberg, Indiana Jones has never been the merchandising success like it's cousins Star Wars and E.T. Although one could blame that on it's historical surrounds or it's lack of wookies, it's really never been established why.

One of the best attempts at merchandising Indy was Kenner's 1982 "Adventures of Indiana Jones" line, released in 1982, a year after the film made it's debut, it was a nicely made if not sparse toy line that ran for two years. What little did come out was actually quite nice and now very collectible.:

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

The above Enterprise water pistol pretty much epitomizes why I love rack toys in the first place. The first thing is it's fragility, there was no way these things should have survived a trip to the car let alone being kept mint in package for 35 years. The other is, well, look at this thing, it's a strange combination of goofy and awesome. I don't know whether to laugh or be in awe of it.

I really have to mention the "Sleazy Sci Fi of the 1970s" compliation DVD available today as well.Not only does th set include "2069: A Sex Oddysey" (the infamous movie I got busted with as a young lad) but also the camp classic "Invasion of the Bee Girls" .There is a third film included that I have not seen. It's too bad this set didn't include the (terrible) British sexy sci fi romp "Spaced Out" as it would truly be a trifecta of my puberty movie watching.

Finally, the 1980 cult classic Flash Gordon is out on Blue Ray today. I don't own a player but if there was ever a film to watch in high definition, I'd imagine this would be the one.The thing is such an explosion of colour and sound, it makes perfect sense. Plus, the bigger and louder the Brian Blessed, the better I say.